Sent...: Nepal - OCT 2025

I've grown accustomed to (or at least I'm not as frustrated by) the fact that things don't always work out according to my plan. This visit to Nepal and the things we had scheduled have been on the calendar for about a year. I schedule my visits to Nepal in the late fall to avoid the monsoon season that typically runs from July to September. Most years, an October arrival should have been OK. But this year, Nepal experienced an unprecedented late monsoon during the first few days of my visit that brought everything to a halt and claimed the lives of over 50 Nepalis. I've never seen it rain so hard and for such a long period of time here in Nepal. It rained constantly for 48 hours in Kathmandu. Everything pretty much shuts down when it rains so hard. That meant sitting and waiting rather than traveling from Kathmandu to Chitwan, where most of the activities were to take place as we had planned. The heavy rains here cause landslides and the potential for life-threatening landslides and floods on many of the roads that pass through the Himalayan foothills. The rains were especially heavy in the areas where Raju and I were to travel, and the roads and footpaths that many of the pastors and students of the Himalayan CLC of Nepal (HCLCN) needed to traverse to make it to the pastor training seminar we had scheduled and the Himalayan Bible Institute (HBI) graduation. The roads from Kathmandu to Chitwan were impassable in several places due to major landslides, and many areas prone to landslides were closed to keep everyone safe.

Long story short...our plans had to be changed, and there was a lot of downtime since we just couldn't travel to the places we were scheduled to visit. The downtime allowed us to travel to the West for a couple of days, where the rains were not an issue. Raju has been wanting to take me to Mustang District to show me some fantastic views of the Himalaya since I first visited way back in 2008, but we've never had the time. We also managed to have an abbreviated pastor conference with many of the HCLCN pastors who braved the dangerous roads. And we were able to hold the HBI graduation with all fourteen graduates, their families, and some of the members of their home congregations able to attend!

This was the 5th graduation of the HBI. The Lord has been and continues to be doing amazing things here.

Class Spokesman for the HBI Class of 2025 receiving his diploma

2025 HBI Graduates and Instructors

While I don't appreciate and rarely understand why things don't always work out according to my plans, I have come to realize more and more with each passing year that God's constantly working to bring His good, gracious, and merciful plans to fruition. And, all things do indeed work out for the good of those He has called according to His good purpose! That is certainly evident here in Nepal among the hardworking and dedicated laborers in our Savior's Nepali harvest fields.

When I first received an email from some guy in Nepal named Raju some 18 years ago asking, "Can you come to Nepal and help us train pastors?" I can honestly say that I didn't think too much of it. The CLC was receiving lots of inquiries from several places around the world at that time. It was my job to respond to each one on behalf of the CLC Board of Missions. I sent a quick reply with my typical form letter, asking several questions and stressing the importance of the truth of God's saving word in all that we do, with an invitation to study God's word together via online theological correspondence courses. I was thinking that this inquiry would go the way most do and probably wouldn't turn into anything more than a request for financial support. But boy, was I wrong, and thankfully so! Over these past several years, the Lord has blessed the Gospel ministry in Nepal as none would have expected! Knowing our Savior's desire for all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, I'm not sure why this surprises me, but as I look back at what He has accomplished, I am amazed!

After a couple of years of correspondence, a colloquy with Raju and his father, and several visits, Raju came to the U.S. to attend 3 years at our Immanuel Lutheran Seminary. He returned to Nepal in the spring of 2015 after the earthquake and started the Himalayan Bible Institute. In the past ten years, 42 men have completed the two-year training course and are now serving faithfully as pastors, evangelists, and church leaders as they spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in a nation that is less than 2% Christian. Who would have thought that, eighteen years ago, a simple reply to an email from Nepal would blossom into such an amazing opportunity and privilege to assist with our Savior's Great Commission in such a far-flung region of the world? Praise the Lord for giving us, the CLC, the privilege of being a part of the Nepali harvest!

A recent census indicates that there are approximately 500,000 Christians out of roughly 30 million Nepalis. Some estimate that there may be as many as 1 to 3 million Christians, but many are afraid to admit it for fear of persecution. That's a lot, but it also means that there is still a lot of work to be done. The work of spreading the Gospel is not easy here. There are many challenges. The terrain and dangerous travel make it difficult to reach many parts of Nepal. There is a growing resistance to Christianity, with Hindu Nationalism on the rise. And Anti-conversion laws are always a potential for trouble for anyone proclaiming the Gospel. Praise the Lord for His love, protection, and blessings on the faithful pastors, leaders, and members of the HCLCN who continue to shine the light of Jesus in Nepal.

I leave for India tomorrow (Monday, Oct. 20). It's been almost six years since my India visa was revoked. I'm excited and eager to return to see my dear brothers and sisters and fellow servants of our Savior. If all goes according to plan, I will meet Mr. Joel Krafft (chairman of the CLC Board of Missions) in Chennai. We will spend a little more than a week attending the BELC/CLCI joint pastoral conference, meeting with the leaders of each church body to discuss their ministry opportunities and needs, visiting a couple of districts of the BELC, and reviewing proposed plans for a building project to replace the dilapidated BELC headquarters and Bible institute.

Your prayers of thanksgiving for a good visit to Nepal, His blessings of safe and uneventful travels, and successful passage through immigration in India are requested and much appreciated.